


a love so deep (the ocean would be jealous)

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: to love (and to be loved) [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 15:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17164838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: While in Busan, South Korea, for her older brother's wedding, Kono Kalakaua meets Steve McGarrett on a beach at sunset. What happens after forever changes the course of her life.





	a love so deep (the ocean would be jealous)

**Author's Note:**

> "I crave a love so deep, the ocean would be jealous." - Pablo Neruda

**Busan, South Korea  
May 2004**

-o-

 

Kono Kalakaua’s flight from Honolulu landed in Busan, South Korea, at three o’clock in the afternoon. Her older sister’s incessant complaining began exactly six minutes later.

“What’s the point of flying all the way to South Korea to watch our brother get married on a beach when we _live_ on a beach back home?” Andrea Kalakaua grumbled when they reached baggage claim.

“Because they _met_ here, in South Korea,” Kono reminded her sister impatiently, keeping an eye out for Hannah. Their mother would kill them if they lost their sister in a foreign airport. “We’ve been _over_ this, Rea.”

“I know we have, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense,” Andrea muttered under her breath, grabbing her bag when it came around and waiting for her younger sisters to do the same. “I think it would’ve been easier for everyone if they’d gotten married in Honolulu. Would have been a lot cheaper, too.”

“Their money, their decision. This is why Mom told you to go to sleep early last night, Rea. You’re a real grouch if you don’t get your full twelve hours.” Kono smirked in response to the disgruntled look Andrea tossed her way. “Hannah slept on the flight here, and she’s not complaining needlessly about anything, are you, Han?”

“Well, that’s not fair,” Andrea argued. “Hannah’s a perfect angel on no sleep at all. It’s why she’s Mom’s favorite.”

“Mom doesn’t have a favorite,” Hannah replied mildly, adjusting the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

“Yes, she does,” Andrea and Kono said together. “It’s you.”

“That’s freaky,” Hannah informed them. “And we’re supposed to be at the hotel in an hour,” she added, gesturing to her watch.

“See? This is why you’re Mom’s favorite. You actually adhere to schedules.” Kono glanced around for the exit, spotting it easily enough. “Okay, let’s get out of here and into a cab. If we’re late to our only brother’s rehearsal dinner, our mother’s gonna be spending the rest of her life in a South Korean prison.”

“How awful that would be,” Andrea drawled sarcastically, smiling sweetly at Hannah when their younger sister glanced over. “C’mon, Han, it was a joke. Mostly,” she muttered after a few seconds had passed.

“No time for jokes. We’ve got to save our brother and Bridget from Mom’s wrath. Hannah, stay close,” Kono ordered, making her way towards the exit with her sisters trailing closely behind her.

Luckily for them, the driver of the cab they hailed knew exactly where they needed to be dropped off, so they were dropped off a full ten minutes earlier than their mother had asked that they be there. That didn’t prevent their mother from standing outside and waiting for them, of course, the look on her face suggesting she had truly believed they would show up late.

“Hi, Mom,” Kono greeted as she climbed from the cab. She embraced the older woman quickly, then stepped aside so that each of her sisters could do the same. “Seth and Bridge inside?”

Victoria nodded once, then heaved a long-suffering sigh. “They’re checking in on the final preparations for this evening. The hotel got something wrong already, of course, so it is an absolute mess already. I was just getting ready to head back in.”

Kono nodded noncommittally, not wanting to contradict her mother verbally. She sincerely doubted either her brother or soon-to-be sister-in-law would refer to a minor mistake as an absolute mess, but saying so would only start a pointless argument. “Well, I’m going to go in, see if I can help. Hannah, you want to come with me?”

Her younger sister nodded, following her towards the hotel’s entrance. “Do you think Mom’s going to be okay?” the younger girl questioned once they were inside. “She seems so stressed out.”

“She’ll be fine,” Kono assured her. “She’s just worried about Seth’s wedding, that’s all. The second it’s over, she’ll be back to normal. Or at least as normal as she ever is, anyway.”

Hannah cracked a smile at that. “What do you think she’ll be like when _you_ get married?”

“I don’t want to think about it,” Kono muttered, shuddering. “Not at all. Haven’t even met my husband yet, and I’m already planning to elope.”

“Wouldn’t that end up being worse?” Hannah questioned, following her into the room where the rehearsal dinner would be held that evening.

“Probably, but it’d be better for me in the moment.” Kono glanced around the room, smiling as she caught sight of Bridget and Seth. “Hey, just so you know, Mom’s outside telling every person who’ll listen that it’s an absolute mess in here.”

Seth rolled his eyes. “It’s the menus,” he explained, stepping forward to embrace them both. “The coloring isn’t perfect, apparently, and Mom’s convinced it’s going to send Bridge into crisis mode.”

“I didn’t even notice until Victoria pointed it out,” the woman in question admitted, moving to stand beside her fiancé. “I really had to fake being upset so that she wouldn’t declare war on the printers.”

“This is the insanity you’re signing up for,” Kono reminded her with a smirk. “We told you to run the other way the first time Seth brought you home, didn’t we?”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Bridget protested. “Your mom cares. It’s – it’s sweet.”

“Overbearingly so,” Kono muttered under her breath. “Hey, I told Mom I was going to come see if I could help, and I really don’t want to be caught in a lie by that woman, so… do either of you need any help?”

“You can help with the centerpieces,” Bridget suggested, leading her over to the table where they were all being stored. “How was your flight out, by the way? It wasn’t completely awful or anything, was it?”

“No, it was fine,” Kono assured her. “Uneventful. Hannah slept through most of it. She used Andrea as her pillow, though, not me, so no snoring in my ear.”

Bridget laughed melodically. “Somehow, I doubt Andrea was as satisfied with the flight over as you were.”

“Yeah, I doubt that, too,” Kono agreed, accepting the centerpiece handed to her and carrying it over to an empty table. “So, what’s my mom put you through while here by herself? She’s been awful, hasn’t she?”

“No, she’s been… fine,” Bridget assured her weakly. “I mean, she did tell your brother he had to pick another tie for tonight, because his didn’t match the purple in the centerpieces, and she’s dropped some unsubtle hints about grandchildren, but it’s nothing years with the Delaneys didn’t train me to handle.”

“Still, if we need to come up with a codeword for family dinners, we totally can. I’ve got a list…” Kono trailed off when Bridget shot her a disbelieving look. “Hey, you just met her a few years ago. I grew up with her. I’ve been prepared for this moment since I was eleven.”

“I’m fine spending time with your mother,” Bridget said again. “I mean, sure, on this trip, it’s been… a lot, but nothing more than what I’d get in a weekend with my family.”

“Don’t worry too much,” Kono advised. “Only thirty more hours here, and then my brother’s going to whisk you away from all the crazy people in your life and take you to hang out on a different beach for two weeks straight.”

“I know,” Bridget said, smiling. “I can’t wait to see Fiji. I’ve never been.”

“I’m sure it’ll be beautiful,” Kono replied, placing the final centerpiece on its table. “Now. What else do you need help with? If my mom walks in here and sees me not doing anything, she’s going to make work for my idle hands.”

Hannah sighed as she came to stand beside her older sister. “That joke stopped being funny when I was in kindergarten, Kono.”

“Maybe to you. Not to me.” Kono glanced around the room. “It really is beautiful in here, Bridge.”

“Thank you.” Bridget glanced around. “Maybe some help setting the tables?” she suggested after a moment.

“On it,” Kono promised, going in the direction the other woman pointed to gather the cutlery.

“What do you think Mom and Andrea are talking about?” Hannah asked as they went about setting six places at each table. “They’ve been out there for half an hour.”

“Mm. You remember the boy Andrea brought home for Sunday dinner a few weeks back?”

Hannah paused for a moment before nodding. “The guy with the tattoos and the piercings?”

“Yeah. Andrea’s thinking about moving in with him.”

Hannah’s eyes widened. “Mom didn’t stop ranting about how awful he was for forty-five minutes after they left,” she whispered. “I don’t even think she used English the entire time.”

“Mm. Hence the reason they’ve been out there for half an hour.”

“I don’t get it, though. Why would Andrea want to live with someone awful enough to make Mom react that way?” Hannah questioned.

“Because he’s awful enough to make Mom react that way.” Kono shrugged. “You haven’t gone through your rebellious phase yet, kid, but if and when you do, I promise you’ll get it.”

“Did you ever go through that?” Hannah asked curiously. “A rebellious phase?”

“No,” Kono replied. “I never wanted to. But Andrea and I aren’t the same, kid.”

“Believe me,” Hannah scoffed, “I know that much.”

“Hey,” Kono returned warningly. “Just because we’re not the same doesn’t mean she’s _wrong_ , Hannah.” She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. “This isn’t a conversation to have at our brother’s wedding, kid. Let’s – we’ll talk about it when we get home, okay, if you want to.”

“Fine,” Hannah mumbled unhappily. “Which side do the forks go on, again?”

 

-o-

 

Five minutes before they were scheduled to head downstairs, Kono’s mother barged into her hotel room. Kono had only just lifted the mascara brush to her eyelashes when Victoria chose to make her sudden appearance, which meant she very nearly stabbed her eye out in her haste to turn around and see who it was who’d come in.

“Mother!” she snapped, more out of shock than actual anger. “Could you please _knock_?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Victoria replied, not sounding all that apologetic, “but we only have a few minutes before we need to be down. I was just making sure you were almost ready.”

“I will be when it’s actually time for us to leave, Mom,” Kono assured her. “That is, if I’m not interrupted again,” she added pointedly.

“Fine,” Victoria sighed. “I’ll leave you be, then. But remember, Kono, five minutes. That’s all the time we have left to spare.”

“I’ll be out by then,” Kono promised, exhaling a relieved breath when her mother simply nodded and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

She actually made it out in under four minutes, more to prove a point to her mother than anything else. Despite her mother’s outspoken worries, she looked completely appropriate for the occasion. She wore a sleeveless lace dress in a pale gray color. It hit just below her knees, though the skirt was tiered, and was held in place around her waist by a shimmering silver belt. She’d chosen shoes to match the belt, and earrings to match it all. It had all been Bridget-approved, as well, which, on a night like this one, was more important than it being Mom-approved.

“Well.” Victoria eyed her for a moment, then nodded, seemingly satisfied by what she saw. “You look very nice, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Kono replied, accepting the compliment for what it was. “Where’re Hannah and Andrea?”

“Hannah couldn’t find her other shoe,” her mother replied with a long-suffering sigh. “Andrea stepped outside to _smoke_ before the dinner begins.”

 “Ah.” Kono wasn’t going to touch that one with a ten-foot stick; it’d never been a secret that her mother wildly disapproved of Andrea’s smoking habit. Kono wasn’t exactly in favor of it herself, but, unlike Victoria, she was able to accept that Andrea was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. “Seth and Bridge?”

“Both already downstairs. We’ll head down as soon as your sister – ah, there she is. Hannah, sweetheart, are you ready?”

“Yeah, Mom,” Hannah sighed, closing the door to their hotel room behind her. “I’m ready.”

“Excellent.” Victoria beamed. “Then we should get going. We don’t want to be the last ones to show up, now do we?”

Personally, Kono wouldn’t have a problem with it, and she knew Seth and Bridget wouldn’t, either. It was yet another one of those times where she needed to pick her fights, though, so she simply pasted on a smile and nodded in agreement.

The rehearsal itself was held on the beach, of course, as that was where the wedding would be held the following day. Everything went all right, though Kono was pretty sure her mom nearly lost it on the three-year-old flower girl who stumbled her way down the aisle. After it was over – and with everyone mostly intact, surprisingly enough – they made their way inside for the actual dinner.

It wasn’t painful, exactly, sitting there for an hour with her mother, but it was annoying. There didn’t seem to be anything anybody could say that Victoria didn’t take offense to. Eventually, Kono excused herself to go to the restroom and then left the building entirely before her mother’s nitpicking could turn her slight headache into a skull-crushing migraine.

It was nearly nine o’clock at that point, so the beach was mostly empty. There were a few young couples nearer to the hotel, eating picnics and splashing about in the water, but she didn’t pay them any mind as she made her way farther down the expanse of sand, slipping off her shoes and letting them dangle loosely from her fingertips.

She was completely lost in her own head when one of the sandals slipped from her grasp and landed several feet down the beach. She muttered a few select words under her breath before going to retrieve it. Before she could, though, somebody bent down to pick it up and hand it back.

The naval officer smiled politely, holding the shoe out for her to take. “Here you go. You okay?” He shrugged when she eyed him curiously. “You’re walking alone and barefoot in the dark, and you’re dressed like – well, like _that_. I’m just making sure nothing happened to you, ma’am, that’s all.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’m just – I’m avoiding my mother, that’s all. She’s being – well, she’s being my mother.” She smiled tentatively. “Thank you for asking, though.”

“Sure, Miss…” He trailed off, waiting for her to fill in the blank.

“Kalakaua,” she informed him. “Kono.”

“Steve,” he said in return. “McGarrett.”

“Nice to meet you, Steve McGarrett.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Kono Kalakaua.”

“So,” she began after a moment, “you do know that, if it’s even a little weird for me to be out here in a dress and heels, it’s totally weirder for you to be out here in full uniform. You know that, right?”

“I do,” he replied, smiling wryly. “I came straight from work, though, so…” He trailed off. “What’s your problem with your mother?”

“Oh.” Kono sighed. “If I’m going to tell a complete stranger about these things, we’re going to have to walk.”

“Okay,” he agreed easily, falling into step next to her. “So, your mom?” he repeated after a few minutes had passed in silence.

“She’s just… she’s a lot, that’s all. She’s overprotective, and overbearing, and she doesn’t know how to just not say anything when it comes to our personal lives. Plus, my brother’s getting married tomorrow, and we had his rehearsal dinner night, which means she’s about ten thousand times worse than usual.” Kono shook her head. “It’s probably not fair to put it like that.”

“Sounds fair enough to me,” Steve assured her.

“Yeah, well, you’re only hearing my side of the story,” Kono pointed out.

He smiled wryly at that. “I guess that’s true.”

“I just – I want us to have this one thing without it devolving into a screaming match. They deserve at least that much. With the way my sister’s acting, though, I think there might be a physical fight at the wedding itself.” Kono glanced over at him. “So? Do you regret agreeing to let a complete stranger complain to you about their problems?”

“I just spent the day in meetings,” he informed her. “This conversation’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to me. So, no, I don’t regret anything.”

Kono smirked. “If that’s true, you really need to get out more.”

“You’re probably right.” He glanced away from her for a moment, towards the water, then turned back. “I’ve never had much of a social life,” he admitted after several seconds. “Not since I was a kid, at least.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t have much of one, either,” she told him. “I signed a surfing contract when I was fifteen. Haven’t had much time to get out on my own time in the past six years.”

“Surfer, huh?” He eyed her curiously. “I wouldn’t have guessed that.”

“And if you weren’t in uniform, I probably wouldn’t think you were a sailor,” she returned.

He smiled amusedly. “Touché.” He considered her for a moment. “A surfer with a last name like Kalakaua,” he mused quietly. “I’m going to take a wild guess here and say you’re from Hawaii.”

“I don’t think it’s much of a wild guess with that much information, but you’re still right. Though most people don’t guess it based on that information alone. They usually have to look up at the scoreboard first.”

“Yeah, well, I’m from Hawaii,” he informed her. “Lived there until I was fifteen. My dad’s on the police force still.”

“Oh. That explains it.” She stopped suddenly. “Your dad’s a cop in Hawaii?”

“Yes,” he replied, confused.

“You’re John McGarrett’s son.” She shook her head when he nodded in response. “This planet really is _insanely_ small, isn’t it? Your dad and my godfather are old golfing buddies.”

“Well, I don’t know about the planet,” Steve hedged, “but Hawaii is.” He cleared his throat. “I haven’t been back in a long time.”

“I know,” Kono murmured. “You think you ever will? Go back, I mean?”

“I don’t know. Would depend on if I had a reason to, I guess.” The man looked absolutely desperate to move on to another topic. “It’s getting pretty late. Don’t you think your mom will notice you’re not there soon?”

“My mother’s probably too focused on belittling the poor, underpaid servers to realize one of her own kids has disappeared from the building,” Kono replied honestly. “But, yeah, I should probably head back.” She smiled wryly at the hesitant look on his face. “You can even walk back with me, if that’ll make you feel better.”

“It will,” he told her honestly. “You really shouldn’t be out here so late by yourself.”

“Maybe not,” Kono allowed. “But it’s not like I’m unprepared. You know how there’s a way you can break a man’s nose so badly it’ll probably kill him? My godfather taught me it when I was eleven. I’m not really scared to be alone in the dark, McGarrett.”  

“Well, like you said, it’s not for your safety,” he reminded her. “It’s for my peace of mind.”

“Well,” she sighed, amused, “who could _possibly_ say no to that?”  

They made their way slowly back to the hotel, talking and laughing as they went. By the time they finally reached the stretch of beach where the building was located, she had very nearly forgotten why she was dreading returning to her hotel room. The second they came to a stop, however, it came back to her easily enough.

“Hey,” she heard from next to her. Steve smiled down at her when she turned to look at him. “It’ll be fine.”

“Well, if it’s not, at least you’ll have something to brighten up your boring life tomorrow.”

“That is true, but I’m still not going to start rooting for a fistfight to break out at your brother’s wedding.” Steve smirked in response to the disgruntled look she tossed his way. “Good night, Kono. It was nice meeting you.”

“It was nice meeting you, too,” Kono returned. “But you’re forgetting something.”

“Oh, yeah?” he questioned interestedly, turning on his heel to face her once more. “What’s that?”

“Well, we just made these very important plans,” she reminded him. “Plans that may or may not be responsible for me not losing my mind tomorrow.”

“We did,” he agreed.

“But I don’t have your number, and you don’t have mine. So, how’re we going to stick to said plans?” she questioned logically, flashing an innocent smile when he laughed quietly.

“You make a very good point.”

“Of course I do. I always do.” Her smile widened. “I don’t suppose you’d happen to have a notepad in one of those pockets of yours?”

“I don’t,” he confirmed. “But it’s fine. I can remember nine numbers.”

“You can, huh?”

“Yeah,” he promised, his grin fading into something much softer. “I’m good at remembering really important things.”

“I’m sure you are,” she smiled. She gave him her number, then backed slowly toward the hotel’s entrance. “Good night, Steve McGarrett. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he echoed, turning around and heading back the way they’d come.

Kono was still smiling when she crawled into bed an hour later. She didn’t think she’d stop anytime soon.

 

-o-

 

Surprisingly enough, nothing particularly disastrous went down during the ceremony the following day. Her mother and sister did get into a verbal sparring match or two, but that wasn’t anything unusual. Most importantly, the bride and groom were happy. In Kono’s opinion, that made the entire weekend a major success.

The reception was bearable enough, though Kono didn’t really appreciate the fact that her mother and various members of her new sister-in-law’s family kept trying to set her up with every single unmarried man in the room.

“I’m sorry,” Bridget murmured when she stopped by the table where Kono and her sisters had been seated. “I know they’re a lot.”

“Don’t worry, Bridge, she’s doing great at ignoring them,” Andrea informed the other woman. “I don’t think she’s glanced up from her phone for more than five minutes since cake was served. Are you waiting for a very important phone call or something? Did you meet someone? And if you did, can _I_ meet this someone and tell them all about every little embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?”

“Thank you so much for your heartfelt support, Rea,” Kono drawled sarcastically.

Andrea scoffed. “Oh, please, I’m your older sister. The opposite of supportive is what I’m supposed to be when it comes to your romantic relationships.” She paused. “Did you actually manage to meet someone on our first night here?”

“Even if I did, I’m definitely not telling you about it now.” Kono’s phone began ringing in her hand as she spoke. “Excuse me; I need to take this.”

“Of course.” Bridget smiled. “Go, go. If you’re gone for more than half an hour or so, we’ll cover for you with your mom.”

“Well, Bridge will,” Andrea corrected. “I won’t say anything, because I personally don’t think a twenty-one-year-old woman should have to explain to her mother where she is at every moment of every day.”

Kono shook her head, accepting the call as she walked away. Five minutes later, after a few narrowly missed run-ins with the female relatives convinced she’d soon be an old maid just months after reaching the legal drinking age, she was outside the hotel and walking along the same stretch of beach as the night before, Steve once again at her side.

“So, are you able to read minds or something?” she questioned teasingly, glancing up at him. “Because you called at the exact right moment. I was about a second away from screaming.”

“What happened?” the lieutenant commander asked curiously.

“My sister doesn’t know when to shut up,” Kono sighed. “Plus, my sister-in-law’s crazy aunt was trying to set me up with her son.”

“The look on your face says he’s not exactly a catch,” Steve commented wryly.

“He seems like a perfectly nice man, but he’s forty-six and an accountant. Plus, he lives in Wyoming,” she added. “Do you know what I’d do in Wyoming? I’d die. Well, no. First I’d get the worst case of frostbite in history, and _then_ I’d die.”

“Doesn’t sound like the best way to go out,” Steve agreed evenly, trying and failing to hide his amusement.

“No,” Kono sighed. “It doesn’t. So, once again, thank you for calling. Though you could’ve taken the time to go home and change,” she added, glancing over at him. “It’s got to be hot in that uniform.”

“Sun’s not up anymore,” he pointed out. “And I’ve had to wear it in hotter places than this.”

Kono shook her head with a smirk. “You’re not going to clarify that statement, are you?”

“Well, I could,” Steve replied drily, “but then I’d have to kill you.”

“I’m sure you’ve never used that line before,” she murmured laughingly.

“Eh.” He shrugged noncommittally. “You hungry?”

She blinked once at the sudden change of subject. “Um. Yes?”

“Yeah?” Steve checked, smiling amusedly at the questioning lilt in her tone.

“Yeah. All I’ve had today was cake, so I’m pretty much starving. What did you have in mind?” she asked.

“There’s a café just up there,” he explained, gesturing further down the beach. “It’s pretty good. I’ve had guys from my unit say their _rabokki_ is to die for. Personally, I don’t think it’s that great, but to each their own.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what _rabokki_ is,” Kono admitted.

Steve chuckled. “Well, then, I guess you’ll be the deciding vote.”

“Is that what my lack of experience gets me?” Kono teased.

“Yup,” Steve replied simply, leading her up to the café’s entrance and holding the door open for her.

The food was delicious, just as he’d promised. The conversation was good, too, although his attempts to teach her the bare minimum of German after she requested it pretty much ended in disaster. They stayed there for a while longer than she’d expected; by the time the bill had been delivered and he’d insisted on paying for it, the sun was completely gone from the sky.

“So,” she began, wrapping the jacket he’d removed tighter around her shoulders.

“So,” he echoed, glancing over at her. “I’m guessing you need to get back to the party.”

“I do,” she agreed, sighing quietly. “My mom’s not so distracted tonight; she might actually notice if I’m not around.”

Steve smiled slightly at that, but otherwise didn’t react. “When do you go home?” he asked instead.

“Tomorrow,” she replied. “I’m guessing you’ll have to get back to base soon enough, too.”

“Tomorrow,” he confirmed.

“Well.” She drew in a deep breath. “The real world’s calling, Steve McGarrett.”

“It is,” he agreed quietly. “Doesn’t mean this has to be goodbye, though.”

“Oh, I know,” she assured him. “There’re these newfangled things called phones. They work great.”

“You enjoy mocking me, don’t you?” he asked, his lips quirking slightly.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I do.”

“But, since you brought it up…” He trailed off, nervous for the first time since they’d met. “Does that mean I’m allowed to call you?”

“Yeah,” she laughed, shaking her head at the look on his face. “You can call me. In fact, I think I’m going to have to insist that you do.”

“Oh, well, if you insist…” They came to a stop in front of the hotel. “Then I guess I’ll talk to you soon, Kalakaua.”

“I’ll talk to you soon, McGarrett,” she echoed. She handed back his dress jacket with a sad smile. “Bye,” she murmured, backing slowly away.

“Bye.” He watched to make sure she was inside safely, then remained standing there for several more seconds before finally turning and walking away.

Though she didn’t yet know it, that chance meeting on the beach – and all that came after it – would shape the rest of Kono’s life.

**Author's Note:**

> Edited/Rewritten: June 14, 2019.


End file.
